Last month, we gathered in Cannes once again for the Indie Forum & Drinks Party. The sun shone on LBB Beach as our all-star line up took to the stage to discuss their secrets of success and what it means to be an independent agency today.
Huge thanks to our panellists - leaders of incredible, award-winning independent agencies - for taking the time to be with us. These included:
Eva Santos Bouzas, Co-CCO and Founder, Delirio & Twain Lindsey Evans, Partner, Special Group Anna Pancyzyk, Chairwoman, Brand New Galaxy Adam Ferrier, Strategy Partner, Thinkerbell Josh Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO, Day One Agency Lindsey Slaby, ‘The CMO Whisperer’, Sunday Dinner Alex Reeves, EMEA Editor, Little Black Book We were also enormously privileged to hear the stories of two esteemed guests from the Ukraine, Olga Lanovyk and Nataliya Popovych.
Huge thanks to all of our speakers for sharing your compelling insights!
After these excellent panels, we gathered on the beach for a drinks party where we had a long-overdue catch up with friends from the industry.
Julian Boulding, thenetworkone (L) with Robert McNeil, Pulse International, Ukraine (R)
We’re grateful to everyone who was able to join us – it was so good to see you all again.
One of the most moving and heart wrenching panels at The Indie Forum was a discussion with our honoured guests from the Ukraine, Olga Lanovych and Nataliya Popovych.
We recorded a follow-up conversation with Olga Lanovych for anyone who couldn’t be there in person to hear her story. Olga was forced to flee her home, family, friends and her successful communications career in order to seek refuge from the war. You can watch her full story here.
In addition, please take a look at Nataliya Popovych’s initiative, We Are Ukraine, a website to share the truth about the Ukraine war.
Huge thanks to Nataliya and Olga for sharing your stories.
The Indie Awards 2022 are OPEN FOR ENTRY!
We’re delighted to announce that the Indie Awards are open for entry! Prizes are presented for excellence at the Indie Awards, not agency size. The quality of the work always comes first at the Indie Awards.
Last year's Best-In-Show winner was the phenomenal campaign, '14 Is Not OK', by Optimist in Estonia. The powerful and inspiring work aimed to raise the age of consent in Estonia from 14 to 16, and it was so effective that it led to a change in Estonian law. Watch the campaign here.
'14 Is Not OK' is a shining example of the excellence in the independent sector. Now is your chance to show the world what you've achieved this year. Your entries will be judged by leaders of some of the best independent agencies in the world and, at just £250 GBP, entries are accessible to all. What’s more, members of thenetworkone are entitled to ONE FREE ENTRY. If you’re a member of thenetworkone, contact us to claim your discount code now. But hurry – entries close on 7th November. For more information and to enter, please visit our website.
Webinar: The Ultimate Cannes Review 2022 with Julian Boulding & Patrick Collister Tuesday 19th July, 13.00 UK time
The Cannes Lions Festival can often be seen as a microcosm for the industry - for better or worse!
We'll be exploring everything we learned from the Festival in a webinar on Tuesday 19th July 2022 at 1pm UK time.
Thenetworkone's Julian Boulding will be sharing his exclusive review of this year's Cannes Lions, including industry insights and trends, key points from the Festival presentations and fringe events and his views on the winning work.
He'll be joined by creative supremo, Patrick Collister, for a critical creative analysis of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
If you want a comprehensive and unfiltered review of Cannes Lions 2022 and the industry at large, look no further and register now!
Cannes Lions 2022
We were so glad to see independent agencies win big prizes at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and especially proud when they’re members of thenetworkone! For example, Serviceplan Munich won a Grand Prix and a Titanium Lion for the following campaigns:
So, if you’re attending the event or, perhaps you’ll be in Chicago at this time, why not let Paul Squirrell know. He would love to see you, grab a coffee and, catch-up.
The Indie Forum in Singapore November 2022
Would you be interested in an Indie Forum in Singapore?
We're currently looking at holding a two-day conference in November, focusing on "The Next Big Asian Brands" on day 1, followed by discussions on Global trends on day 2.
Please let us know if you'd be interested in attending and, based on demand, we'll turn it into a reality.
Thenetworkone will be attending the ICCO Global Summit this October.
The Summit will bring together global PR leaders in Dubai to discuss how PR can lead a people-focused future.
If anyone is planning to attend, please let us know. Also, please let us know if anyone is interested in speaking - we can't make any guarantees but we'll try our best!
Finally, you can use the code EARLYBIRDS2022 to get a discount on tickets - click here.
PRovoke Global Summit 2022 24th - 26th October, Washington DC
The PRovoke Global Summit will be taking place at the Watergate Hotel from 24th to 26th October.
PRovoke Media's Global Public Relations Summit is one of the most important events in the global communications world’s calendar. What's more, Julian Boulding will be hosting our annual Indies afternoon on 24th October.
We'd love to know if you're planning to be there, and we currently have speaker slots available. Please get in touch if you're interested.
The Adforum Global Agency Search Consultants Summit – EMEA
We expect that the major creative and media agency search consultants from European countries will all be there and, usually, the agency holding companies pay around 30,000 Euros for a morning or afternoon slot.
We have purchased a slot for the independent agency community for the full price, but will divide it into five parts. Therefore, five agencies can each present for 20 minutes, each paying a much more affordable 20% of the whole cost.
Places are by invitation only and highly sought after. We’ve allocated two already – if you are interested in one of the other three, please email Julian Boulding ASAP.
News from our members & friends
Serviceplan Group moves to a new House of Communication
Congratulations to Serviceplan Group, Europe's biggest independent agency, upon moving to a new House of Communication!
Florian Haller, Owner of Serviceplan Group, described their new Munich home as "an interconnected and innovative office building" which "serves as a vibrant community hub and helps [them] to truly foster integration".
Serviceplan has been a member of thenetworkone for many years and we are pleased to have helped them in their international growth journey. We hope they'll be very happy and successful in their new place of work.
Percepto's Best Practices For Brands Taking Activist Positions
Ran Blayer, CEO of strategic reputation management & digital communications agency, Percepto, recently wrote a piece in Forbes outlining best practice for brands taking activist positions.
Increasingly, major brands have taken bold political positions, most notably in the case of the Russia/Ukraine war.
Read Ran Blayer’s advice on how to tackle these situations here.
Happy 25th Birthday to Crossmedia
We'd like to wish a very happy 25th birthday to Crossmedia!
The German media agency - with offices in the UK & USA - has stood for freedom to think differently, transparency and passion for the best solution for the last 25 years.
We wish huge congratulations to a great independent agency and member of thenetworkone. Here's to the next 25!
They recently conducted a survey which found that 85 per cent of independent media agencies will grow staff by up to 25 per cent or more! However, they also found that a talent crisis could hamper growth.
Dark Social: What Every PR Professional Needs to Know
ICCO have published a free report to help every PR professional learn about Dark Social. They explain:
"Some platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Reddit share data relating to how people are engaging with content. These are called ‘open’ social platforms.
In contrast, dark social media channels do not share this information. Activity takes place behind closed doors, often amongst carefully curated groups of friends, family and colleagues."
Click here to download the report and learn everything you need to know about the most mysterious side of social media.
Sapio heard the concerns of their friends in agency land around the difficultly in pulling business plans together with the looming threat of recession. So, they asked businesses where they are currently at.
They surveyed 500 business decision-makers, in the UK, Germany, Japan & US covering companies with 25 to 10,000+ employees, delivering 2,000 opinions – 75% of which have an influence on marketing spend
In the report, you’ll be able to learn about:
International business confidence
How close is the impending recession in reality
How business is likely to mitigate the recession
What it means for marketing spend
How business-related content consumption has changed since the pandemic hit
What businesses want to hear about today
Click here to learn more and sign up to be one of the first to receive the report.
APAC/MEA Young Changemakers Award Launches Call For Entries
PRovoke Media is partnering with WE Communications to recognize and celebrate diverse young female communicators through the YoungChangemakers Awards.
These awards will celebrate the next generation of communications leaders, help launch the careers of up-and-comers, and create better equity and more opportunity for those in marginalized groups.
